Drake said, unequivocally, he isn’t dissing Tupac Shakur on “Fear.” He’s just pointing out that he was too young to fully feel the impact of the music icon at the time of his passing.

“I never cried when ‘Pac died,” Drake raps on the song from his So Far Gone EP. “But I probably will when Hov does/ And if my tears hold value, then I would drop one for every single thing he showed us/ And I’ll be standing in a puddle.”
-via MTV

Was it even necessary for him to explain this? Did people REALLY think he was going at Tupac? I never use “smh” but I think it may be merited here.

How is that you ask? Well, they both possess intangibles that are required for success. Fab can rap. His flow and mic presence are there and it’s hard to dispute. Penn State will always be good defensively. If you’re a linebacker that went to Penn State, you wear that as a badge of honor. Hell, you’re going to be drafted in the first round.

So what’s the problem? You can win with that, right? A good flow makes a good track, and defense wins championships.

Not so fast.

Penn State’s last national title was in 1986. Even though they have largely been ranked in the top 10 for the better part of two decades, they don’t have much to show for it.

Fab’s been in this game for a while. He’s remarked that he’s been spittin’ full time since the 90’s and is a contemporary of Nas and Jay-Z. However, he’s not mentioned with them. We know he can rap with the best of them, but his mainstream success has largely been determined by his singles. His LPs are always points of contention for critics. Case in point: Loso’s Way.

Keys for the Game: Deliver in the big game and you’ll be in the national championship.

Continuing our look into MTV’s Hottest MC’s List by comparing it to college football and it’s difficulty to understand, we have 50 Cent. The final list was revealed yesterday and I will break numbers 8 through 1 down in a two-post format. For now, enjoy this look at 50 Cent and the Golden Domers.

This one is easy. 50 just clocked in at number 9 on MTV’s list. I can only speculate that it has something to do with the Rawse beef earlier this year. In that case, Ricky should be even higher on the list. (editor’s note: I was right)

I can’t really blame the guys who rap about their money, clothes, or girls these days.

I can’t.

I won’t criticize em’ for it.

In a lot of ways, they’re responding to the cries of the public. For a long time, people were complaining about gangster rap and the violence that lingered in hip-hop. They said women were being excessively degraded. They said it was getting out of hand. It wasn’t just politicians, old folks, or stiffs either; it was even kids who said “yeah I like hip-hop, but I like old school stuff when it wasn’t about killin’ and hos.” If someone says they don’t like hip-hop now because of those reasons, I know they don’t listen to popular music. If they did, they’d know it’s all about rapping about what you have: Gucci, G-Shocks, J’s.

What’s my point? We’re moving past the whole guns and girls phase, and I think someone should point that out once and for all, even if we’re into clothes and into hipster stuff. Did we graduate to something better? You decide.

p.s.: I will criticize you if that’s ALL you rap about, because it’s unoriginal. Don’t you love the contradictory nature of hip-hop… and me